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The Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Soils and Water Management (DA-BSWM) through the National Organic Agriculture Program (NOAP) allocated 100M budget worth of Composting Facilities for Biodegradable Wastes (CFBW) units to 172 qualified recipients to strengthen the institutional capacities of the Local Government Units (LGUs) in terms of sorting, collecting and composting their community wastes and to lessen the dependence of the farmers to commercial fertilizers.

CFBW and Small Scale Composting Facilities (SSCFs) are the two composting facilities being distributed by the BSWM to promote organic agriculture with BSWM being the DA’s national focal coordinating agency.

According to BSWM Director and the NOAP National Coordinator, Dr. Silvino Q. Tejada, the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) reported that there are 4,0087.46 tons of projected waste generation nationwide per day. Considering the large amount of biodegradable wastes coming from city and town markets and residences, there is a need to set-up facilities near markets, trading posts and residential areas that will convert those wastes into organic fertilizers/compost which could be used by farmers and other interested groups.

"We have been facing serious problems regarding proper management of waste disposal throughout the country. The Agriculture Department conducts researches to improve soil and water conditions that have been taken care of by the BSWM through the years. We keenly see to it that while we attain food sufficiency, we are not leaving behind the line the importance of food safety," Tejada underline.

Furthermore, to capacitate the stakeholders of the project, BSWM recently conducted a three-day Capacity Enhancement on the operations of CFBW held at the Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance (SIPAG) Farm School in Las Piñas City. The pilot training program was attended by at least 60 representatives that are composed of City Agriculturists, Municipal Agricultural Officers and LGU representatives nationwide.

In an interview with representatives from Region I, one of the attendees of the training, City Agricultural Officer Elmer V. Santiago underscored the importance of the in-vessel composting facility in terms of waste disposal management, promoting good agricultural practices through organic farming and environmental protection by bringing back the residues to the soils.

"This capacity enhancement activity can give us more idea on how we can operate the facility to benefit more farmers in the community and the Local Government of Laoag as well. We are also looking forward to learn new technologies that perhaps be introduced to us by the end of this training," Santiago added.

The Food and Agriculture Organization also cited that composting can potentially divert up to 150 kg of food waste per household per year from local collection authorities.

CFBW can process 1-2 tons of biodegradable collected wastes and can produce 500kg organic fertilizer/compost in a span of two weeks. Through the establishment of these facilities, rural and urban communities are expected to improve their net income, reduce production cost and promote environmental protection through the use of organic fertilizers/composts produced from biodegradable community wastes.

The DA implements the NOAP in support to the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010 or RA 10068 which was authored by DA Secretary Proceso J. Alcala.

February this year, the BSWM completed its delivery of 83 CFBWs worth 49M nationwide.

"Our country is now being recognized all over Asia in terms of organic farming, reaching our targeted increase of 5% hectares devoted to organic farming out of the total agricultural land area is what we have to work for this year," Tejada added.